The Ever Silver Reunion
Circa 2015: Though 25 years had passed by since graduating from IIT Madras, fond memories of the Insti, campus and hostel were as fresh as it could ever be for me. I heard from some of my classmates about the upcoming silver reunion – they said that it would be wonderful for all of us to meet on campus, catch up on the quarter century’s happenings, reminisce about the good old days and perhaps even leave a legacy. Email conversations and WhatsApp messages suddenly started exploding, and more and more people were getting in on this – from the US and India. True enthu was being built up. The Ever Silver Reunion for the Class of 1990 was certainly happening that December in Chennai.
Thanks to constant prodding by my classmates, my family and I decided it would be great for us to partake in this. We booked our tickets. IIT MAA has been doing an amazing job of coordinating the alumni reunions and working hand in hand with the various groups at the Insti; this dedicated team had a well-planned itinerary and plan and made it easy for us to register.
Even before the reunion, a core group of about 10 people (GDS, CSri, Vinay, Umesh, Muddu, Thotha, Deepesh, Vellayan, Gobal and I) were already discussing how our class can contribute to IIT Madras and that too in a big way, in a bold way, in a way that was not done before. We arrived at a number of Rs. 8 crores (about $1.2M) – a target way above what was done before us. Some among this group also committed to donating significant sums either individually or from their companies.
When we arrived in Madras (Chennai), it was a feeling of a lifetime meeting up with fellow classmates, many of whom I hadn’t met since graduation. This was also a key visit for my wife (Sandhya) and children (Neil and Roshen), who could see the venerable institution, the hostels and the campus. Moreover, they also could get to know my friends and their families and also spend quality time with many families that we meet regularly here. It turned out that we were able to connect with many classmates whom I had never met on campus or rarely spent any time there or after graduation. Many of these folks and their families have now become very close to us.
While on campus, we never got tired of taking pictures non-stop. For instance, a monkey drinking Sprite relaxing on a tree branch between my hostel, Alakananda and Saraswati was a priceless photo moment. I digress.
We discussed with the IIT administration and faculty on possible uses of the funds we would raise and eventually arrived at supporting Entrepreneurship and Innovation. By this time, IITM was ranked as the #1 Engineering Institution in India by NIRF. IIT Madras had made steady headway in research, incubation, and industry collaboration and had scores of companies that spawned out of its research park and incubator. Our batch was very much interested in fostering this culture, funding students and faculty to pursue entrepreneurship and bringing innovative products to the market quickly.
After two days on campus and a day and a half in Mahabalipuram, we all were charged up and contented. The pressure was on to meet the Rs. 8 crores of funds.
After we came back to the US just before the new year, some of us took up the challenge of raising this entire Rs. 8 crores. With Umesh leading the charge in India, it was up to some of us to do the magic here in the US. Having been deeply involved with non-profit organizations here over the previous decade and half (Sankara Eye Foundation, CALICO and Wharton Non-profit Board Leadership Program), I was naturally drawn to this fundraising adventure. With the help of many of my classmates, I reached out to people who attended the reunion and those who could not make it to the occasion. We pitched the plan, the difference and impact it was going to make, how the money would be spent, how this would be governed and why they should pledge/donate. One by one, our classmates stepped forward, generously pledging and donating significant amounts. We used to send daily updates via email and our class Whatsapp group and also updates when we got a commitment from someone. The mood was high, the pressure was mounting, and the results were remarkable.
Within three weeks, we had reached our target of $1.2M in gifts and pledges. History was being made. We would become the first class to raise the entire pledged amount.
Little did I know then that I would be embarking on a journey to be more deeply involved in fundraising at a larger scale as part of IITM Foundation. More on that later.
BIO:
Dr. MuckAI Girish is the Co-founder & CEO of Rockfish Data, a Generative AI startup developing a Synthetic Data Workbench solution for Data Scientists. Girish has over a quarter century of experience in the AI/ML and tech industry. Girish also serves as the CEO and Board Member of IITM Madras Foundation. He holds a B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, an M.S. and PhD from Boston University and an MBA from the Wharton School.
